It is known that the orthodontic aids used for correcting dental malformations basically consist of one or more bodies featuring seats for an orthodontic archwire in their inner part, which are wedded to a retention base, as to allow various operating orthodontic aids to be suitable for the same archiwire which extends along the arch subjected to therapeutical treatment.
The manufacturing of these orthodontic aids is diversified on account of the different shape of each tooth so that a single orthodontic aid corresponds to a respective tooth. For example, an orthodontic aid for the upper right eye-tooth is different from that for the upper left eye-tooth and so on.
At present, in order to identify orthodontic aids in relation to the teeth for which they are suitable, each orthodontic aid is usually marked with a corresponding sign which consists of a numerical abbreviation or of a colour dot positioned on the disto-gingival edge of the orthodontic aid as is clearly shown in FIG. 1 of the enclosed drawings wherein said codes consist of a "2" and of black dot foreseen on the tie wings (A) of the bodies wedded to the retention base (B). However, an identification code positioned on this edge of the orthodontic aid consequently becomes less perceptible and recognizable, being the surface available, the area of which is generally about 1 square millimeter, quite limited, which can cause tiredness and mistakes on the part of the orthodontist.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,326,259 describes a method of manufacturing orthodontic aids with identifying indicia which can be positioned on the upper area of the bodies wedded to the retention base. But, despite its complexity, this common operative method presents the above mentioned disadvantages. Another example of such device is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,276.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,494 relates to a plastic orthodontic appliance having projecting structure extending outwardly from a bonding base which is shaped to have a bonding area within the bonding base and the free edge of the projecting structure. A portion of the bonding base may be an open area without projections to allow for the molding of an identifying mark.
However, this known appliance doesn't allow for molding identifying marks easily recognizable by the orthodontist. In fact, by increasing the marking area the bonding area will be correspondingly reduced with a relevant bonding action reduction. Furthermore, the molding of identifying marks is cause for a limited possibility of choice for the appliance bonding structure, said molding technique being not utilizable, for example, in case of brackets having bonding net-like structure, which are greatly reliable and fully tested, due to the fact that the molding techinique would imply a deformation of such entity to functionally damage the bonding net-like structure.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,484 describes a plastic aesthetical orthodontic bracket. The retention base may be provided with identification marks which are molded in small recessed portions of the retention base to be not noticeable when the bracket is bonded to the relevant tooth. The molding of the identification marks in the small recesses of the lingual surface of the bracket may involve an undue visual weariness by part of the orthodontist because said marks are too small. Even in this case a bracket having a retention base with net-like structure is not utilizable because the molding techinique would imply an untollerable deformation of the net-like structure.